One wrote: “Omg, I’m so sad for everyone affected by this. Grrrrrrrrrrr”. Another said: “this is disgusting, my friend is buried here. so disrespectful!!”

Anthony Rickman was at the cemetery on August 14 to visit his wife’s grave, hours after the criminal damage had occurred. He described one family who came to visit a loved one’s final resting place only to find it had been damaged as “totally devastated”.

He said: “I felt so sorry for them. What kind of people would do something like this?”

Mr Rickman, from Fulham , continued: “It was like a war zone. The place looks absolutely devastated. I think I counted up to 47 and then I stopped counting.

“A lot of them have been smashed and cracked. It’s crazy.”

H&F council leader Stephen Cowan said: “This was an appalling act and our hearts go out to the families affected. We will do everything we can to catch the mindless vandals and we appeal for any information that might help the police.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the police non-emergency line on 101 or anonymously on Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.